Discovering Briancon

No work today, it's Sunday!!
Go up and out on the bike early keen to finish the challenge, nice and easy ride on the flat for 22kms and mission accomplished...at last!!!
I had decided on a road trip (in the car for a change) for today with the historic township of Briancon the destination of choice. The weather was a complete contrast to yesterday with hardly a cloud in the sky and the mountains looking magnificent with all the new snow.
The drive over included part of what I had ridden earlier in the month over Col du Lautaret, much easier in the car, then it was down the other side to Briancon, about a 80km trip over.

Briancon is the highest town in Europe, I spent my time there exploring the Cite Vauban of Briancon, a medieval old town that was a military city in the eighteenth century and is surrounded by fortifications. It was very easy to spend a good half day there wandering around in absolute awe of the structures, views and history.

Waking up to snow falling

This morning I woke up and looked out the window to see snow falling, quite amazing really considering the fact that summer starts next week. Anyway it was a good excuse to have a bit of a sleep in as well as a good opportunity to catch up on some more work.
I worked away up until just after lunch and then got tempted by the break in the weather to get out on the bike, another motivation was the fact that I had signed up for an online challenge to complete 813kms of riding between 13 and 26 May and I still had 123kms to go with only today and tomorrow left.
I headed out and found a couple of new hills to challenge the legs and then added a nice scenic traverse along another balcony type road that was more or less on the opposite side of the valley to the one I rode the other day.
Didn't get back until after 6pm and managed to clock up 104kms for the afternoon, leaving a mere 20kms to do tomorrow to complete the challenge.
Good day all round really!!

La Berarde - don't look down

Firstly for all you critics, I actually put in close to an 8 hour day of work today, ok maybe closer to 6 hours. Very inconvenient meant that I didn't get out on the bike until about 2pm, I'd decided to ride out to La Berarde which is a bit further on from the ride I'd previously done to Venosc, a good bit further on as it turned out.
The climb up to Venosc wasn't too bad and I'd done that one before but then the climb out of Venosc was a nice steep tough one, then a short bit of flat stuff beside the river before another tough climb up to St-Christophe-en-Oisans, after which the grade lessened off somewhat but still uphill. What a spectacular road and scenery though (again). another narrow road that seems to hang over the edge of the mountain, this one however didn't have any guardrail or wall of any sort so it was a case of "don't look down".
Another great ride and some more spectacular, remote mountain landscape!!!!

More about the bike and lifestyle rather than "working from anywhere"

Ok, so I have to admit that this blog has now become more about the cycling and the lifestyle here in the French Alps, all I can say in my defense of this is that you can only write so much on the working side of things, the bottom line is that the actual "Working from Anywhere" is working and working well.
Needless to say that today started off with some work, as I said what more can I say?
Then I'd picked out a 100km loop that was partly some of a route that I did the other day but in reverse and the middle part of the route a different direction. The route was named in the guide book as "Le tour du Plateau Matheysin par la Morte", this route started off going up Col d'Ornon the opposite side to my 93km loop that I did on Saturday, then moved back on the reverse direction as this ride until just after Valbonnes where it turned up towards La Morte and the ski resort of l'Alpe du Grand Serre.

the ski resort of l'Alpe du Grand Serre

The climb up to La Morte wasn't too bad or it could be a case that I'm just getting used to all the climbing, I stopped for some much needed lunch at  l'Alpe du Grand Serre, I would have stopped sooner but couldn't find anything open, a bit of a trap in these parts, you never know when they will be open.
Then it was a very exciting 12km descent into Sechilienne, as mentioned many times before the descents are an absolute thrill, roads are mostly smooth with lots of sweeping corners and the odd hairpin to keep you on your toes (or brakes). It was back to the highway home, a lengthy part of which is a gradual but consistent uphill so its a bit of a tough drag to finish, I was feeling pretty good by the time I got to my turnoff though so decided to keep going into Bour d Oisans to my favourite bakery to treat myself to coffee and cake before heading home, adding an extra 15kms to my trip, ended up 119kms for the day.
Certainly clicking up the km's, I've now covered close enough to 1000kms since I've been here and even more telling is I have now surpassed 20,000m of climbing, thats 20km's of vertical gain in 17 days!!!!!

Climbing up a rugged snow lined mountain

A bit of a hazard on the way!

I got up and into some work nice and early after yesterday's rest day off the bike, this had me finished early and set to get back out in the mountains for the best part of what was looking to be a stunning day.
Going through my handy cycling route guide (an excellent production provided free by the Tourist Information centre), I thought I'd put together a combination of a couple of the routes to cover a bit of extra ground.
A very good choice in the end that had me riding up a very rugged and narrow mountain road, climbing up the Col de Sarenne, from here it was a descent into Alpe d Huez on a snow lined road, breathtaking views on the way. I got to Alpe d Huez and had flat tyre which was easily fixed, then it was a coffee and baguette at the Indianna Bar & Cafe at the top of Alpe D Huez.
Next was a the exhilarating descent down the hairpins as far as la Garde-en-Oisans where I turned off to follow another mountain hugging road through Auris-en-Oisans, another spectacular road, a bit of climbing (yet again) but well worth it, passing through little tunnels on the way.
It was then a descent onto the main road back to Bourg d Oisans, stopping for another coffee en route back to Allemont.
A very nice 90km loop for the day, another great adventure in the French Alps.

Sunday is rest day

Feeling a bit weary from all the hard kms on the bike so attempted a rest day, hard as it is to resist the temptation of getting out there in mountain paradise. I was tempted to travel over to Valloire to watch Stage 15 of the Giro Italia but with all the road closures I would have had to travel half way around Europe to get there, so a rest day it is.
I thought I'd share some interesting observations on some of the things they do differently here, most of which I think are great:

In the Supermarket:

Huge range of fresh produce

• You bag up,weigh and put the price sticker on your own fruit and veggies while you shop.
• Wine, spirits etc are all available on the supermarket shelves mixed in with all the other items, and they are so cheap!!
• The range of fresh food is phenomenal, meats, cheeses, salamis and so many other delicacies, quite overwhelming.
• They don't have plastic bags at the checkout, you either bring your own bags or buy a recycleable one at the checkout (its taken me a bit to get used, finally remembered to bring my bags back last time).
• The checkout, the checkout staff don't bag your items, they simply scan them and toss them down the counter for you bag, combined with the fact that they don't have to weigh anything it makes for a very efficient and quick process.

Hours of Business:

This is one area where think the French have really got it right, not such thing as 24/7 trading here unless its an unmanned service station.

Not only do they not trade 7 days a week but some shops take a few hours off during the day, a small supermarket down the road from me is closed every day between 12.30pm and 3.30pm, a bakery might close for part of the later afternoon. 

Many shops are closed on Sunday and if they are open on Sunday they may have another random day off during the week, sometimes you never know sometimes its advertised (or maybe I just understand the French writing).

Also you'll find shops closed for several weeks or days at time while the owners have holidays.

Oh how I wish it was like this at home, I really hope they hang onto this tradition.

No household garbage collection

Rubbish:

They don't seem to have a household garbage collection as such, instead there large bins situated everywhere for you to place you garbage and recycleables, they seem for recycle conscious with the separate bins for each recycle type. Not a bad system I say.

Cycling:
Cycling is a big thing in France, especially in this cycling haven, the infrastructure and acceptance of cyclists is something to behold. There are cycle lanes on most of the main roads, there is signage advising motorists to give cyclists 1.5m clearance and the big one is that motorists actually respect this. Motorists will slow down and follow a cyclist until its safe to pass rather than get impatient and try and dangerously squeeze past.

and the motorists respect this!!!

It really is quite refreshing and I haven't witnessed a agitated motorist anywhere!!

That's just the few things I can think of for now, I'll keep you posted on any others as they come to mind

The weekend has arrived

The weekend is here so I'm treating it like a weekend at home, no work!!!

Passing through
another village

The day started off with clear skies and some sunshine although still a little chilly, so I thought I'd attempt the loop ride that my friend Guy Little (owner of King f the Mountain Chalet in Ornon) suggested. It was everything that Guy promised, a nice hoot along the highway that was slightly downhill all the way to Sechilienne, then turn off the highway climbing through the forest to Laffrey, around the lake for a bit and then another slight climb into Cholonge, then some lovely quiet narrow country roads through farmland and villages to La Mure, onward then back into the mountains and up Col d'Ornon for the last climb before the long descent back to Bourg d Oisans.
Ended up a tough 93km loop that had a bit of everything both terrain and weather, the sunshine turned to rain and icey headwind for the second part of the ride but a very enjoyable and somewhat different ride to the others I have experienced, definitely going to do this one again.

Australian governments andcouncils should follow this lead
This sign was on a quiet road, they are also on major roads.

Cycling over here really is quite different to Australia, one major difference is the respect given to cyclists by motorists, you feel much safer as the motorists here actually wait until its safe to overtake you with plenty of room to spare rather than try and squeeze by you, there is also plenty of signage to support this.

Cracking the 1 hour on Alpe d Huez

coming round the mountain

Ok so it rained (and snowed in some places) all night and continued for the morning so it was another opportunity to chip away at the workload. Sorted out a few things with Kaycee back in the Tathra office, managed and actioned my emails and had a pretty productive work morning.
Then the sun threatened to make an appearance, I just couldn't help myself I needed to get out there on the bike, its just too tempting. It was getting late in the day so I thought maybe a challenge rather than a long discovery ride would be the order of the day, this time last week I achieved 3 ascents of Alpe d Huez so I thought I would attempt this tough climb with the aim of cracking the 1 hour, ambitious but no more than last weeks challenge.

Villard-Reculas

I gave myself a nice warm up on the 8km ride to the base of the mountain, stopped at the base, shed some layers, tied my helmet to the handlebars, reset my lap meter and off I went on the attack. The climb is a touch over 12kms so I knew that I would need to keep my average speed up over 12km/h to achieve my goal, I could monitor this by use of my trusty Garmin.
Long story short, I dug in at the steeper start of the climb and at one stage was a bit concerned that I could keep it up, I managed to get into a more even pace through the middle section and then toughed it out for the top section. Keeping an eye on the average which was slowly reducing as the climb wore on but still hopeful, then I dug deep for the last 1km and was ecstatic to get to the line just under the 1 hour...challenge success..oh yeah.
After espresso at the top I decided to head back to Allemont a different route, turning off a little way down to follow a stunning narrow mountain road that traverses the mountain to Villard-Reculas before an icey but adrenaline pumping descent into Allemont.
Arrived back at my home in Allemont absolutely pumped, this place is so so exciting!!!!

Where did the blue sky go?

Woke up to a cold and rainy looking day, so I was thinking that a bit of work followed by a rest day would be on the cards,  but then I convinced myself that the weather was clearing. I'd been up to visit Guy Little at Ornon the previous afternoon, we stayed with Guy and his wife Helyn on our previous trip, Guy suggested a nice scenic 90km ride, so once I'd convinced myself that the weather was clearing off I went.

Umm which one today?

Needless to say I was wrong, the further I got into the scenic ride the wetter, foggier and colder it got, not to mention the fact that I couldn't actually see any scenery. I climbed up to beyond Laffrey before deciding that there was no point continuing the loop. I turned around and headed back the same way, stopped for something hot to eat in Laffery then continued home, still managed a 62km ride with a pretty tough climb up Laffery though, I'll just have to return another day when the weather clears and I can actually see the scenery.
A nice hot shower was the more than welcome followed by lunch and then into Bourg d Oisans to my favourite bakery to enjoy a lemon tart and espresso, do some washing and a bit of shopping.

Best I could do with an iphone descending and not fall off my bike

A Taste of Cycling in France

More work than play today

I woke up to a cold and rainy day which was the perfect motivation to spend most of the day catching up on the workload. The timezone difference is not making too much difference, I've got into the habit of an early start (which has the added benefit of leaving the best part of the day free to play and explore), this also allows me to work with Kaycee back in the office, this is mostly done by Skype instant messaging, which works well, it's quite an efficient way of doing things. We are also able to collaborate on documents using Sharepoint, as well as any accounting through Quickbooks Online, all in all we are both getting used to working this way and it's definitely "working".

I was very pleased to have had a very productive workday so decided to head into Bourg d Oisans for my daily espresso and pastry at my favourite bakery, only to arrive there and it was closed. The shops here seem to open and close at various times, mostly having several hours off during the day, it's quite refreshing really, its a pity the same doesn't happen in Australia rather than the 24/7 lifestyle we are now used to, unfortunately I can't see this changing, hopefully regional France will not go the same way.

Anyway all was not  lost, I found another bakery and bought myself a pastry and then went and found a nice espresso, the good news is that they all seem to make great coffee and cheap, around €1.20 gets you a great coffee.

The clouds had lifted by the time I'd finished my coffee so I decided I may as well get out for a late afternoon ride. I opted for a shorter but hard hitout, thought I'd see how fast I could ride up Col d Ornon, a short but tough little climb, only 6.4kms but an elevation gain of 353m, I hit it hard and was very pleased to claim 2nd place on the Strava King of the Mountain for the climb, happy days.

Then it was back to my  apartment for a hot shower, the daily red wine, cheese and bread followed by dinner.

Another great day in the French Alps !!!!!

Swapping bike shoes for walking shoes

Not too much to report today except another glorious cloudless day in the French Alps, decided to have a day off the bike (very hard thing for me to do), instead headed down to the tourism office and picked up some maps and suggested hiking itineraries.
The map boasts "900kms of trails" or more specifically "900 kms de sentiers pour decouvrir L'Oisans
", so there were plenty of choices. I opted for a walk that started around the lake in Allemont where I am staying and then climbed up higher in the mountain before descending back into the village.
There's plenty more to do than just the cycling and you could come back many times and still not cover half of it.
Met up with my French teacher that afternoon, still finding it very difficult but all I can do is persist, finished up going to a local bar afterwards in Bourg d Oisans and had a few drinks with some local UK folks which was good fun.

Chateau de Vizille - Museum of the French Revolution

Had a nice early morning ride on a quiet road that didn't feature any massive hills, lovely ride though the vineyards and then through some gorge country.
Then it was back to the hotel for breakfast before packing the car to go back to the Alps.
I stopped at Chateau de Vizille on the way back to the Alps and was very pleased that I did. Not only was a magnificent old building and massive and beautiful grounds but inside the Chateau is a museum of the French Revolution. The museum is spread over the several floors of the Chateau and features all sorts of artworks that basically tell the story of the French Revolution, entry was free and you received a handheld audio device that you simply had to punch in the number for the relevant work and it told the story. I've never really been into history or museums too much but I found this place fascinating and will probably return to take a bit more of it in.

A quick trip to Provence - Mount Ventoux

Top of Mt Ventoux

Today I headed down to Provence for the weekend, I was up early so after a 3 hour drive I still had plenty of day left. The weather wasn't looking too bad so I decided I may as well tackle the monster Mt Ventoux, its a tough climb on any day but can be near impossible if the weather changes and the wind is blowing on the exposed summit.
Not the perfect mountain to tackle backing up from yesterday's triple ascent of Alpe D Huez but I was feeling up to it. I did climb this monster back in 2010 when over here with our Bega group but I had forgotten just how tough it was, 21km's of mostly 10% grade which is relentless. The wind did blow as I got out of the forest and onto the exposed road nearer top, fortunately the grade eases off slightly though and with the switching road I had a mixture of tailwind and headwind. Got to the top in a very respectable 1hr 41mins for the 21km climb.
Its was blowing and cold up the top so it was a case of a quick photo, put on the wind jacket and head for the bottom. It was cold up the top of the descent but the good news you get to reap the benefits of the climb by enjoying downhill all the way back.
A big plate of spaghetti when I got back to Bedoin was just what I needed to refuel, then it was back to the hotel.

A challenge to mark my birthday

The cheer squad at the top of Alpe D Huez
cheering their friends on as the reach the finish.

Today is my birthday, unfortunately the weather wasn't looking too good for my planned challenge that I had set myself to mark my birthday, it was raining and cold. It did start to clear as the morning wore on though so I decided that I may well have a crack at it, a triple ascent of Alpe D Huez, not everyone's idea of the best way to celebrate your birthday but I figured at least I'd remember it.
So off I went, I tried to make sure I paced myself early and managed to get to the top of first ascent feeling pretty good, celebrated ascent no.1 with an espresso up the top. Then headed down the mountain, quite cold and a bit hazardous due to water running across the road off the mountain in several areas.
Climb no.2 didn't feel too bad either, got to the top for espresso no.2 still feeling pretty good, headed back down the mountain feeling I could do it.
Something to eat down the bottom and a energy gel and I was off for the final ascent, this one of course was tougher but I was still feeling that it was achieveable, it was a tough climb but it got easier as I got closer to the top running more on adrenaline from the thought of ticking off the challenge.
Got to the top and celebrated with a well deserved large beer!!!!

More of the same

The "working from anywhere" concept is working and I would recommend it to anyone, it means making a few changes in your systems and how you run your business but it's all worth it. There are many other benefits apart from the ability to choose where in the world you want to work from and when too, cost savings being just one.
Nice ride up to Villard Reculas and then along a narrow mountain road that brings you out onto Alpe d Huez, tough climb up to Villard Reculas but well worth the views and the ride along the edge of the mountain. Stopped for coffee in Bourg d Oisans before heading home.
I have a french lesson tonight with a local teacher, meeting in the bar for the lesson, can't think of a better classroom.

Beautiful weather and more nice rides

A glorious day, not a cloud in the sky the mountains looked even more stunning if that's possible. All's still well on the work front, sticking to my routine of  early rise, get some work done while its still office hours in Australia, then the rest of the day to explore.
Headed up to the village of Venosc today, really nice ride to get there and a really nice mountain village  enjoyed the ride there then spent some time exploring the narrow streets of the village.
Finished the day having a beer at the local hotel in Allemont before retiring back to my apartment for my daily red wine, cheese and bread or vin rouge, le fromage et le pain.

Work, play and lifestyle

Still getting used the time zone change which meant I was up at 4.30am this morning, that gave me an opportunity to get some work done and still have a good part of the day left to get out and about.
The working from anywhere systems all seem to be working, even receiving phone calls on Skype when people call our office number. The quality of sound is pretty good too and the people don't realise that they are talking to me in France.
So I really am working from anywhere, not just having fun as some people have suggested, definitely balanced in favour of fun and lifestyle though, but hey lifes short.
So work being all done, the weather was looking good so I decided to tackle one of the higher climbs, the Col du Lautaret, the climb itself is about 35kms, the good news being its then 35kms back down again, very exhilarating. Spectacular scenery on the way, huge mountains, fast flowing rivers, waterfalls and tunnels though the mountain make for a pretty special experience.

Col d Ornon and not much work

Okay so apart from the early morning wake up call and having to deal with a few issues at the office, there wasn't too much productivity happening today.
I decided to head out and tackle Col d Ornon instead, ended up a tough little ride, although pretty much standard for around here, not too much is easy. The climb itself was just of over 10kms with an elevation gain of over 600m, so it's no walk in the park. Then I went and made it even tougher by going down the other side which meant climbing back up again, the descent made it all worth it though.
Another great Alps experience, mountains, quaint villages, tough climbs and exhilarating descents.
Next up was a French lesson with a local teacher, and what better place to start than at a local bar, best classroom environment ever I say. I decided that the best way to have any chance of learning this language was to have lessons while I have the chance to out it to practice everyday.
So far its still very overwhelming, I'm hoping that that will improve by the end of a month though.

Its not all play

Just so you don't think its all play and no work, I did have my first test for the "working from anywhere" concept and I'm happy to say it all worked out.
Got a message at 1.50am my time this morning with a issue back at the office, we were able to sort it all out over Skype.
First test passed!!!

21 Hairpins the only way to start

I enjoyed my drive from Lyon to Allemont, driving on the highway at 120km/h and still 10km/hr under the speed limit. The trusty GPS got me to my destination without too much fuss, my home for the next month is basic, very french and is just what I expected.
It didn't take me too long to get unpacked and settled in, it also didn't take long to put the bike together. I was keen to get on the bike and get the travel legs working again, I thought it would be a good idea to start with a warm up ride but I soon abandoned that idea and decided to tackle the 21 hairpins of the famous Alpe d Huez instead.
I was very pleased with my decision in the end, it felt great to be riding my bike in the mountains again, theres something about riding a bike surrounded by snow capped mountains that can't be explained, you just have to do it to understand the feeling.
I survived the climb and stopped for a well deserved lunch back at Bour d Osians, a typical French salad, huge and of course served with plenty of crusty bread on the side.
Tomorrow its back to work as that  is the idea, mixing living somewhere else and enjoying the lifestyle with keeping up with business online at the same time.

Timezone adjustment

I managed to crash out pretty well as soon as my head hit the pillow but then awoke at 2.30am local time wide awake. I decided I may as well get up and work on my blog and was pleasantly surprised to discover that my budget hotel had free Wi Fi, what a bonus.
So here I am at the start of my first day in France, just waiting for the clock to tick around to 7am so I can have breakfast and get on my way to the village of Allemont.

Arrived in France

I was looking forward to the final leg of the journey and getting to France, the final flight actually got into Lyon 30 minutes ahead of schedule. Passport control at Lyon airport was the opposite of Dubai, a very quick process, unfortunately waiting for the baggage was not so quick.
My luggage had been booked all the way from Canberra to Lyon and I was a little nervous about it making all the connections due to past experience, after a lengthy wait my bag did eventually make a welcome appearance on the carousel though, I then had to wait for the bike case to arrive into the oversize items area, which it did.
It was then a very easy process to catch a shuttle to the Hertz car rental to collect my vehicle for the next 4 weeks. I collected the Citroen Picasso, a nice mini wagon style car with ample space for the bike in the back once the seats were put down.

It all felt a bit strange getting into the drivers seat on the opposite side to what we are used to and then I had to concentrate on making sure I stayed on the right hand side of the road, I'm hoping it will get easier with time because it all feels quite odd right now.
I had decided to stay overnight in Lyon rather than trying to drive to the Alps after my long journey. I brought my GPS with me all loaded with French maps, so I punched in the hotel address and off I went, finding the Premiere Class Lyon Hotel reasonably easily.
The hotel is nothing fancy but at 38 euros for the night including breakfast a bed was all I needed after a couple of days of airplane seats.

Quick tour of Dubai

Old friends and former Bega Valley residents David and Kathy Saxton are now living and working in Dubai so it was a great opportunity to catch up and Kathy kindly offered to show me around this amazing city.
I only had a few hours as I need to be back at the airport at 12.30pm so it was a bit of an express tour, first stop was a visit to the private hospital where david works, quite a contrast from what we know as a hospital, more like a modern hotel than a hospital.
It was then off to see and visit some of the incredible and somewhat excessive buildings and attractions that Dubai is famous for, the size and some of the architecture is quite amazing. The indoor ski field is not just an open slope, more an indoor alpine resort, looks like fun, I must get back here one day and have a go.
The shopping malls as with everything else in this are huge and range from market style to brand shops, apparently plenty of bargains to be had too.
Although only a short time, I was very pleased that I got to see a little bit of Dubai, thanks to Kathy.

A short stopover in Dubai

My flight arrived into Dubai at 5.40am and the next flight didn't depart until 2.25pm the same day. Emirates offer free accommodation for passengers with a stopover of more than 8 hours as long as they are booked on the next available onward flight to their end destination. I thought was a good idea for me even though I had arranged to catch up with some old friends in Dubai and have a look around.
Getting through passport control was a rather long process, long queues and actual process was quite lengthy, I had plenty of time so I wasn't too concerned though. Then trying to find out where the transfer to the hotel could be found was another trick altogether, after several enquiries I did eventually get to the right place though.
It was only a short transfer to the Arabian Park Hotel where I was able to freshen up before meeting up with Kathy Saxton for a express tour of Dubai.

Wi Fi on the flight

Flying Emirates you even have the option of using WiFi em route, couldn't help myself I had to use it just because I could. So this is my first ever blog post from in the air.
Flying with Emirates was a pretty good experience and one that I would recommend, the A380 is as comfortable as any economy flight I've ever experienced, the food is good, the inflight entertainment system is excellent, service staff are friendly and as mentioned you can even go online during the flight.
Just over 14 hours to get to my first stop, Dubai, the international hub for Emirates.

At the airport

Arrived at the Canberra Airport with plenty of time to spare,  all I had to do now was get myself, my bike and luggage checked in.
Checkin was reasonably straight forward although I was a little over the 30kg baggage allowance so I was asked to move something out of my checked in baggage and into my carry on. This seemed rather ridiculous but I figured it was easier to comply rather than get offside with the check in staff. I was able to check all my baggage through to the end destination of Lyon though, this meant that I wouldn’t have to deal with lugging my bike bag around Sydney airport, happy days. I also received all my boarding passes, so all I would need to do in Sydney was go through immigration.

Packed and ready

The bike is packed and ready to go, a couple of last minute things to do at the office then its off to Canberra for my flight to Sydney and then onward to France.
I decided on flying with Emirates to take advantage of their generous 30kg baggage allowance, my weigh in has me as just over so I'm hoping I can get through without too many problems.